Fastener



i sates 2,998,111 FASTENER George Whyte, Livonia, Mich, assignor to Robert L. Brown, Ferndale, Mich. Continuation of application Ser. No. 633,797, Jan. 11, 1957. This application Oct. 24, 1960, Ser. No. 64,652 6 Claims. (Cl. 189-88) are provided with apertures to receive fastening devices for supporting the moldings or deocrative material. Often these aperturesin the panels do not align with another panel and as a consequence, the moldings do not align.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fastener for such decorative material which may be readily adjusted, after installation, to compensate for the misaligned apertures, bringing the decorative material to true alignment. 7 Another object of the invention is to provide a fas tener, which when in its applied position to the panel, and securely holding the decorative material against the panel, may be rotated about its axial holding position in the panel to move the decorative material.

A further object of the invention is to provide molding or decorative holding devices on the fastener which are offset from the center of the fastener holding means such 1 that, upon rotation of the fastener about its central holding means, the molding holding devices are shifted upwardly or downwardly to position the molding or deco-' rative strip in alignment with the end of an adjacent strip. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood fro-m the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of an automobile body,

showing panel portions having misaligned moldings or decorative strips;

' FIG. 2 is atop plan view of the fastener secured to one of the panels, and a molding applied to the fastener, parts thereof being broken away and in section, and the dot and dash lines showing the fastener rotated about its holding I axis for aligning the abutting ends of the molding; FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view through the fastener, panel and molding, taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 illustrates a decorative molding 10, in two parts, 7

applied to the side of an automobile body. One portion of the molding 10 is applied to the door 12 of the body andlthe other portion is applied to the fender 14. Fastener receiving apertures are provided in the door and in the fender. The aligned apertures in the door are supposed to be in alignment with the aligned apertures in the fender but often, due to inaccuracies in assembly, the apertures in the door do not align with the apertures in the fender. The result is that when the two part moldings are applied to the door and fender, the abutting ends of the moldings are out of alignment, as indicated in FIG. 1. To overcome this objection, I have provided a shiftable fastening means for securely holding the molding to the body which may be rotated about its holding axis to move the moldings into true alignment.

The fastener selected for illustrating my invention comprises a body portion 16 having tabs 18 struck out of the body portion forming securing means adapted to enter an aperture 20 in the body panel 21 for drawing and retaining the fastener tightly to the panel. The fastening tabs, or holding means for the fastener, are located between the opposite ends of the fastener and when applied to the panel serve as a pivot point in the aperture to swing the fastener about the axis of the aperture.

At one end, only, of the fastener, there are provided molding engaging flanges 22 for securing the molding to the fastener. These flanges 22 are spaced from the tabs 18 longitudinally of the fastener and are arranged at opposite sides thereof. When the fastener is rotated about the axis of the aperture, the engaging flanges 22 are translated circumferentially, moving the molding therewith.

The side walls of the fastener are tapered toward one end of the fastener, providing a wide end at one side of the holding means, substantially the width of the molding, and a narrow end at the opposite side of the holding means which is less than the width of the molding so as not to interfere with the molding when the fastener is rotated.

The type of molding generally used for a decorative strip comprises a hollow channel 24 having inwardly extending spaced flanges 26. The molding is applied to a body or a panel by springing the flanges 26 over the holding flanges 22 on a fastener which has been previously applied to the panel.

The fastener, herein illustrated, comprises a body por tion 16 having a pair of upturned flanges 22 at opposite sides of the body portion and adjacent one end only thereof. These flanges 22 are tapered outwardly so that they provide divergent surfaces for holding the molding flanges 26 which are sprung over the flanges 22. The outer free edges of the flanges 22 are bent inwardly, as at 28, to form a guiding surface to spread the flanges 26 over the divergent flanges 22.

The body portion 16 is slightly bowed so that its longitudinal edge portions engage the body panel 21 .with the central portion of the body slightly spaced above the panel 21 whereby it may be drawn into tight holding en.- gagement with the panel by the securing means, which may be any means for securely holding the fastener to the panel but permitting pivotal movement of the fastener on the panel. The securing means herein illustrated comprises a pair of tabs 18 integral with a central strip 29 of the body portion which separtes the tabs. Each tab is bent upwardly out of the plane of the body portion, as at 30, and then reversely bent downwardly upon itself, as at 32, through the opening 34 formed by the removal of, the tab, to a point below the lower surface of the body portion. This point from the body portion exceeds the thickness of the supporting panel to which the fastener is applied.

The outer free ends of the downwardly extending portions of the tabs are bent outwardly in opposite directions to form holding ears 36. In the normal position, before the tabs are bent into their holding position, that portion of the tabs 30--32 extending above the plane of the body portion, extends on angle of approximately forty-five degrees to the plane of the body portion 16 in divergent relation. The holding ears 36 are in sub.- stantially parallel relation, spaced apart a distance for freely entering the aperture 20 in the panel 21.

When the fastener is applied to the panel, the divergent portions 39-32 are bent by a suitable tool, such as a pair of pliers, to substantially parallel position. This bending action causes that portion of the tabs below the central strip 28 to be bent outwardly into tight holding engagement with the edge of the aperture 20 in the panel 21. The holding ear portions 36 are brought into holding engagement with the lower surface of the panel 21.

The sides of the body portion 16 are tapered, converging toward one end 38 of the body portion, spaced from the tabs 18, and diverging at the opposite end outwardly beyond the tabs 18, to a wider portion 4%. The wider portion then converges, adjacent its outer end, to a narrower outer portion 42. The upturned flanges 22 are arranged at each side of the apex of the juncture of the diverging and outer end converging narrower outer portion 42, so that one or the other of each pair is in holding engagement with the molding flanges 26 as the fastener is pivoted about the axis of the aperture 20. In the central position, a portion of both flanges 22 of each pair are in holding engagement with the flanges 26, but when it is swung to the up or down position, the diagonally opposite flanges are in holding engagement with the flanges 26. The two flanges 22 of each pair thus provide an outwardly convex molding engaging edge which permits rotation of the fastener to shift the molding vertically.

Upwardly turned flanges 44 are provided along the longitudinal extending sides and an upturned flange 46 extending transversely is provided at the free end of the fastener, to stiffen the fastener and to provide stop means for engagement with the inner edges of the molding flanges 26 when the fastener is turned to the dot-dash line position shown in FIG. 2.

In the assembly of a two part molding having abutting ends, the fasteners are first applied to the panel and the molding is snapped over the fasteners by springing the molding flanges 26 over the holding flanges 22. If the moldings do not properly align, either molding may be tapped by the operator, moving it upwardly or downwardly until they do align, pivoting the fastener about the axis of the aperture 20, maintaining the holding flanges 22 in tight engagement with the flanges 26 of the molding, two of the diagonally opposite flanges 22 being in engagement with the molding flanges 26 when the fastener is rotated in either direction from a central line.

The invention has been illustrated and described as a preferred embodiment of the invention, but it will be understood that various changes, including the size, shape a and arrangement of parts, may be made without departing from the spirit thereof and it is not my intention to limit its scope other than by the terms of the appended claims.

This application is a continuation of my copending application Serial No. 633,797, filed January 11, 1957, now abandoned.

I claim:

1. A fastener comprising a body portion including means adjacent one end thereof extending therebelow for securing it to a panel through an aperture in said panel, said body portion having divergent side edges extending from its said one end toward the other end thereof, convergent side edges at said other end of said body portion opposite end, said last mentioned edges extending generally longitudinally of the molding, said body portion being relatively inflexible in a direction transversely of said side edges whereby said side edges are in fixed relation to one another, means on said body portion adjacent the narrow end thereof engaging an aperture in the panel and mounting the fastener on the panel for rotative adjustment about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the body portion, said opposite side edges of the body portion having at the wide end of the body portion opposed relatively inflexible molding engaging means which are rigidly fixed on the body portion, said last mentioned means being spaced transversely apart a fixed distance corresponding generally with the width of the molding, said body portion being of maximum width along a transverse line spaced inwardly a slight extent from the extreme end of the body portion at said wider end thereof, said molding engaging means extending generally to said line of maximum width from opposite longitudinal directions, said last mentioned means rockably engaging the inturned molding flanges to shift the molding laterally when the fastener is rotatably adjusted in said aperture.

3. The combination called for in claim 2 wherein said I last mentioned means comprise upwardly extending inproviding laterally opposite apices, molding engaging flanges extending angularly outwardly and upwardly from said side edges adjacent both sides of said apices.

2. In combination, an apertured supporting panel, a channel-shaped molding having inwardly turned flanges along its opposite longitudinal edges, means adjustably mounting the molding on the panel comp-rising a fastener having a body portion, said body portion having opposed, divergent, longitudinally extending edges which define the opposite side edges of the fastener so that the body portion is relatively narrow at one end and wide at its turned molding engaging flanges.

4. The combination called for in claim 3 wherein said molding engaging flanges are outwardly convex relative to one another when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of said body portion whereby to facilitate rocking movement of the fastener within the molding.

5. In combination, an aperture supporting panel, a channel-shaped molding having inwardly turned flanges along its opposite longitudinal edges, means adjustably mounting the molding on the panel comprising a fastener having a body portion which is relatively wide at one end and narrow at its other end, said wide end of the body portion having a pair of molding engaging edge portions -at opposite longitudinal edges thereof, said body portion being transversely rigid at said Wide end and said molding engaging edge portions being spaced apart a fixed distance on said transversely rigid section of the body portion, means adjacent the narrow end of the body portion engaging an aperture in the panel and mounting the fastener on the panel for rotative adjustment about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the body portion whereby when the fastener is rotatably adjusted in said aperture, said molding engaging edge portions are shifted circumferentially about said axis in fixedly spaced relation, said molding engaging edge portions rockably engaging said inturned molding flanges to shift the molding laterally when the fastener is rotatably adjusted in said aperture.

6. The combination called for in claim 5 wherein said molding engaging edge portions comprise upwardly extending, inwardly turned flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,214,150 Van Uum Sept. 10, 1940 2,330,675 Brown Sept. 28,1943 2,500,377 Poupitch Mar. 14, 1950 2,515,895 Poupitch July 18, 1950 

